Previously, ink-jet printers have used spittoons into which the printhead is made to discharge, or spit, ink whether routinely to prevent crest from forming in and around its nozzles or on demand to recover from failure caused by the formation of soft ink plugs. Such spitting typically is controlled by firmware executing within the printer's controller, and is achieved very simply by moving the carriage mounting the printhead to a service station area including a spittoon and then firing one or more ink jet nozzles. Previous spittoons have been of limited capacity to absorb and contain ink, due to the limited lifetime spitting requirements of monochrome (e.g. black) ink-jet printheads. Overall printer size, including footprint and volume, typically is relatively small and imposes restrictions upon the design of spittoons having larger capacities. Thus, size limitations are an impediment to the development of higher-capacity spittoons for the newer portable color ink-jet printers.